Okay so this is the newest chapter! Finally! I never thought I'd get this out! Thanks so much for being patient with me and sticking by me! It means so much! Again, I'm so sorry I had to start over and delete all your reviews. It seriously broke my heart to do it, so please review so I can have more! It is my birthday today, after all! I hope you like this next update! Thanks again for everything. Ya'll are the best readers ever!!
HM
Chapter 29
Luna woke up very slowly the next morning…and very painfully. Her head felt like it was split in two, and her mouth felt as if she swallowed a handful of cotton balls. She groaned in agony as she shifted under the sheets, turning over on her side, and then gasped when she all but rolled into Ron.
Ron grinned. "Morning, Blondie."
She flung the sheets over her mouth…her breath probably had smelled better. "Morning," she squeaked.
He copied her actions, lifting the sheet over his mouth as well. "How are you feeling?"
"Um…not too great, honestly."
"Understandable." His eyes crinkled at the corner of his eyes. "You might have consumed half your body weight of alcohol last night."
She closed her eyes on a groan. "I think you may be right."
"I got you some aspirin," Ron said as he held out his palm with two white pills. "Hermione says they are good for headaches."
"Oh. Thanks."
He plopped the pills in her hand and then twisted around to grab the glass of water he had gotten last night and handed it to her. "Do you feel queasy?"
Luna winced as she sat up to take the pills. "A little, but nothing too bad." She downed the pills and the rest of the water in the glass. "I'm never drinking that much again…I must have been a handful."
"You were rather intriguing. I especially liked it when you started singing, Weasley is my King."
Her jaw dropped. "I didn't."
"You did."
She closed her eyes. "That is so embarrassing…why did you even stay?"
"Because you asked me to."
She blinked in surprised and then sighed when it came back to her. "Oh, yeah…I did, didn't I?"
He smiled as he leaned forward and placed a kiss on her forehead. "I would have stayed either way."
She sighed as she leaned into his arms and snuggled up to his chest. Her headache was already ebbing away. "Ronald…you really are quite the sweetheart."
He smiled. "I guess I have my moments."
"You have lots of moments."
He chuckled. "Only when I'm around you." He kissed the top of her head and pulled back. "You ready to go downstairs for some coffee?"
"Yes, but I should probably freshen up a bit. Maybe take a shower."
"Okay. I'll see you down there." He leaned in for a kiss and raised a brow when she leaned back. "Problem?"
"Morning breath."
"Luna," he laughed. "We both have morning breath so it's not…oh, all right." He rolled his eyes when she leaned back even further. "Go brush your teeth and do whatever you girls do and I'll meet you downstairs."
"Thanks, Ronald."
"See you." He playfully tapped his fingers under her chin and then scooted out of bed and paused at the open door. "I'll expect a proper good morning kiss as soon as you come down."
She laughed. "Consider it done, Ronald."
He winked and closed the door behind him. Luna leaped out of bed and frolicked to the bathroom. She was feeling better already.
XXXXX
Harry made it a point to be the first one downstairs so he could talk to Claudia privately. He knew she would have everything handled, he didn't doubt her for a second, but he just wanted to make sure everything went smoothly. He had the day planned out, and it was something he had wanted to do from the beginning, but wasn't sure he'd be able to since it would mean leaving the island. His magicless island.
Now, since he was positive-almost positive-that Ron and Draco wouldn't go at it, he felt comfortable going through with it. He had pulled Claudia aside yesterday before the tournament and asked if she could make the call to get it started and then gave her a few other things to do. He hadn't had the chance to talk to her about it since, so now was the time to do it.
The kitchen already smelled of brewed coffee and sizzling bacon and his mouth began to water. "Good morning, Claudia."
"Morning Mr. Potter." With quick sufficient hands, she whipped out a mug and poured him a generous cup. "You look…tired. Late night?"
"You can say that." He took a sip and practically whimpered in joy. `We didn't wake you, did we?"
"No, no…slept good. Got up early…everything's taken care of."
His shoulders slumped in relief. "Really? Good…I knew you could handle it, but wanted to make sure."
"Everything you requested is done and packed in coolers."
"You're fantastic." He leaned over on the counter and snagged a piece of bacon that was cooling on a paper towel. "When will they be here?"
She took a quick glance at the kitchen clock over the stove. "In a few hours. A little before Noon."
"Perfect." He took a healthy bite of the bacon. "I want you to do me one more favor, though."
"Anything," she said absently as she poured scrambled yolk into the skillet.
"When we're gone, I want you to call the mainland and ask for a ferry. You're going to start your weekend off early."
She blinked. "What? Oh, but Mr. Potter, our deal was that I didn't leave till Saturday morning."
"I know, but I changed my mind. You've done enough…don't worry, you'll still get paid the same amount of money.
"But…but, I need to clean up and do laundry…"
"That's fine, do what you need to do, but you're to be gone by the time we get back, which won't be till late so you'll have plenty of time. No excuses," he added firmly when she opened her mouth to argue. "I'm the boss. You're burning the eggs."
"What? Oh." She quickly went into action and scooped the eggs out of the skillet and onto the large platter. "You spoil me, Mr. Potter."
He grinned. "I think that's the other way around."
The kitchen door swung open and Hermione breezed in. "Good morning."
Harry straightened as she walked over to him. "Good morning," he answered back as he snaked an arm smoothly around her waist and brought her up for a morning kiss. "Sleep well."
"Not too bad. You?"
"I tossed and turned a bit at first…but eventually settled down. "
"Coffee?"
"Of course." She accepted the mug from Claudia. "Thanks. Everything smells good, I'm ravenous."
"You and Harry will get the first batch." She quickly pulled out two plates and scooped a healthy amount of scrambled eggs and a couple of pieces of bacon. Then, four slices of toast popped cheerfully out of the toaster and Claudia divided them up and plopped them on their plates. "Butter is on the table."
"She spoils us."
Harry laughed. "You got that right."
"What's the agenda today?" Hermione asked as they settled into their usual seats.
Harry passed her the butter and he snagged the saltshaker. "I have something planned."
Hermione paused in buttering her toast to look up at him. "Are you not going to tell me?"
"Nope. Surprise. Salt?"
"No thank you. You put enough for the both of us on your eggs."
He just grinned as he took his first healthy bite. "It's good."
She just rolled her eyes and passed him the butter. "Harry?"
"Yeah?" he answered as he slathered on some butter.
"Does the surprise include the entire group?"
He looked up, knowing she was asking if the surprise was taking her to his special spot. "This time it does. But the next surprise will only include us."
The kitchen door swung open before she could comment, so she just gave him a little smile as Ron and Luna plopped into their seats. "Good morning, you two. How are you feeling, Luna?"
Luna winced. "Better." She sighed when Claudia set a cup of coffee in front of her. "Much, much, better."
"I gave her some aspirin this morning," Ron commented before taking his first sip. "It seems to be helping."
"That…and other things."
Ron looked at her sly grin and then blushed. The good morning kiss she promised him ended up being right outside the kitchen door and oh, man, was it a doozey. "Well…what's the plan for today?"
"Well, I…"
The door sprang open as Ginny all but pranced inside while Draco shuffled in behind her. "Good morning, pals of mine."
Ron narrowed his eyes. "You're way too chipper this morning."
She just shrugged. "I guess I am."
"Simmer down, Red," Draco murmured softly in her ear while Claudia was busy doctoring up their coffee. "Might as well wear a sign on your forehead that reads, Just Got Laid."
Ginny snorted a chuckle as she elbowed in his gut but then sobered when Claudia turned back with their coffees. "Thanks."
"So what's the plan?" Ron asked again while everyone was happily gobbling down breakfast.
"Got the whole day covered," he said as he pushed his plate away and concentrated on his coffee. "Just plan on meeting back down here a little before Noon."
"He's not telling us," Hermione said with a pout as she poked at her eggs. "Wants it to be a surprise."
"Aww, now come on," Ginny complained as she set down her fork. "How am I suppose to get ready if I don't know where we're going? What should I wear?"
"Clothes," Draco said. "Or not. Whatever works for you."
Ginny smacked his arm. "Oh, hush. You're such a guy."
He grinned. "Damn right I am."
"Just wear a swimsuit," Harry said intervening. "Bring what you would normally bring if we're going to the beach or something. Maybe some extra dry clothes. Just know we're leaving the island and not coming back till tonight."
"Are we going to the mainland?" Ron asked.
He sighed. "I'm not saying, just be ready on time and you'll see soon enough."
"I'm excited." Luna did a little butt wiggle in her chair. "I love surprises."
"Well, you'll love this one," he said grinning at her and then stood up and took his plate to the kitchen. "Thanks again, Claudia…and remember what I said."
"Yes, yes," she said and shooed him away. "Out of my kitchen."
"I'm going. See you guys later."
"What is he up to?" Hermione asked once he was gone.
"Who knows?" Ginny shrugged. "All we can do is wait and find out. I better go on up and raid my closet. Might take me awhile to figure out what to bring."
Hermione nodded in agreement and got up as well. "Yeah, good idea."
"Me, too, me, too!" Luna cheered as she bounded up out of her seat. "I'm going to go pack my ass off!"
Ron was smart enough to wait until they were gone, before he rolled his eyes. "Women," he snorted as he grabbed a piece of bacon. "Why do they need to stress over crap like that? We don't have to be back down here for another two hours."
"One of the many mysterious of the female race." Draco leaned back in his chair and sipped his coffee that Claudia had just refilled. "Doesn't do any good to try to figure them out."
"That's true." He grabbed the platter of eggs and heaped up another helping. "So…what's with the whole Red thing?"
Draco blinked. "I'm sorry?"
"You call my sister Red."
"Yeah," he said cautiously. "So? It's called a nickname…Weaslebee."
He narrowed his eyes slightly. "I hate that."
"I know, that's why I do it." He grinned. "It's why I always did it. Becoming friends with you doesn't change that."
"Huh." He set his fork down and looked at the man who had given him hell over the years. "Is that what we are, Malfoy? Friends?"
Draco shrugged carelessly. "Seems to me that we are. Would never have pictured it happening, but there you go."
"I have to trust someone to be friends with them first."
"Duly noted and I fully agree with you." He felt the guilt start to creep up on him. Keeping his relationship with his sister a secret wasn't the best way to earn his trust. However, when the two weeks were up, there won't be a relationship at all…so there was no point in telling. He quickly pushed the guilt-and the regret-aside. "I'm sure it'll take some time for you to trust me. Until then, I can just be an acquaintance."
"Or an annoyance."
Draco chuckled. "Either one works for me." He got up from his chair and grabbed his coffee to go. "I'm glad we had this heart-felt talk, Weaslebee."
Ron snorted. "Yeah, whatever, Malfoy."
Draco just grinned and flicked him on the back of his head on the way out. "See you later."
Ron flinched and scowled at the flapping door he had just swung through. Friends or not, he was still a pain in the ass.
"Come in," Hermione answered absently at the knock at her door.
"Hey," Harry said as he walked in and closed the door behind him. "You look ready to go."
"Just about." She smiled at him as she neatly tucked in a towel into her tote bag. "I think I have everything I need. Towel, change of clothes, sunscreen….missing anything?"
He grinned as leaned down for a quick kiss. "You have everything you need." He trailed a finger over the sunny yellow string of her bikini strap that was peaking out of her white terrycloth cover-up. "I don't believe I've seen this one."
"Haven't worn it yet." She then laughed and playfully slapped his hand when he tried to pull her cover-up back for a peak. "You'll see it soon enough."
"I guess I can wait," he said before smoothly pulling her close and up on her toes for a long, deep, silky kiss that left them both weak and breathless.
When Harry began to pull away, Hermione murmured a sound of protest and brought his mouth back to hers. She flung her arms around his neck as the kiss turned hot and desperate and Harry clenched handfuls of her hair while he let himself be devoured. He tumbled backwards onto the bed and she happily followed, shoving him onto his back and straddling him.
"Merlin!" Harry gasped when her mouth began to work fervently down his neck and her hands-bloody hell, her hands-were getting busy under his shirt. He let out a deep groan in the back of his throat as he roughly sat up and flipped her over on her back, pinning her busy hands down on the bed. "Are you trying to kill me?"
She let out a breathless laugh. "Did I get carried away?"
He narrowed his eyes as he leaned down and nipped at her jaw. "Just a bit."
"Sorry…well, not really." Her lids fluttered as his soft lips trailed down her neck. "It's just so exciting…this sexual chemistry between us. I still can't believe it."
"Well, believe it," he groaned as he gently rocked his hips.
She gasped and clenched her fingers around his. "You keep doing that and I'll believe."
He chuckled as he nuzzled her neck. "Better not since we have to meet everyone downstairs in a minute."
"Our friends ruin everything." He just chuckled as he released her hands and let his body weight sink her into the mattress. She wrapped her arms around him, giggling softly when he left playful bites on her neck. "You have a very talented mouth, Harry."
"Yeah?" He moved that talented mouth slowly up the arch of her neck and then caught her bottom lip with his teeth. "Just wait, Lumpy. You haven't seen anything yet."
She grinned against his mouth. "Uh-oh. Should I be scared?"
"Terrified."
She laughed. "Bring it on, Potter."
He grinned wickedly. "I was hoping you'd say that." He gave her one last kiss before lifting himself up. "Come on…I want to show you something."
She let herself be pulled up from the bed and lifted a brow when he led her to the balcony. "What are you doing?"
"You'll see." He stepped out onto the balcony and looked out to see that he timed it perfectly. "Here…come to the railing…and look over there."
She looked over to where he pointed and saw bow of a ship peaking out from around the bend. "Oh…the ferry. Well, I assumed that we'd get a ferry to take us to wherever we were going but…holy shit! That's not a ferry!"
He grinned foolishly, pleased with her reaction. "No, that would be called a yacht. A luxury yacht if you want to get technical."
She let out a joyous laugh as she jumped up and down. "Oh, it's beautiful!" It was glossy white, long and wide with three levels. "We are going to be on that?"
"All day…and night. From Noon till midnight that baby is ours."
"I can't believe it."
Harry stood with her as they watched it smoothly pull up to the dock. "Claudia has made us lunch, the crew is providing dinner…and alcohol. Everything is pretty much set…all we have to do is enjoy ourselves."
She let out another squeal as she wrapped her arms around his waist and held tight. "I'm so excited! Come on! Let's go get the others!"
"Wait, wait."
She let out an impatient huff when he pulled her back. "What?"
He simply cradled her face with his hands and pressed his lips seductively to hers, lingering there before sinking into a deep, drawn out kiss as he gently backed her into the railing. He ended the kiss slowly, coaxing her with gentle nips before finally pulling away.
"Okay," he said huskily as he tucked a stray curl behind her ear. "We can go now."
She blinked and swayed. "Go where?" When he just grinned she shook her head back into focus. "Oh. Right. The yacht." She let out an unsteady breath as she gently pushed him away. "You're a dangerous one, Harry."
"Why thank you, Hermione."
She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah…let's just go before I decide to forgo the awesome yacht and make you drag me to your special place and let you have your way with me."
He groaned as he followed her back inside. "You wouldn't have to make me do anything. Just say the word."
She grinned over her shoulder. "Tempting…but no. I want my day on the yacht." She turned around and took his hands and tugged him in for a short, hard kiss. "And I want it with you."
"Well then." Harry went over and grabbed her bag. "Let's not waste another minute."
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